2014 may be a turning point for the market. According to Canalys, it is at this time that tablets will account for half of the global supply of personal computers.
The leadership in platforms out of these 50% belongs to Android, which by this time will stand on about 65% of all tablets (185 million units). Apple with iPad will occupy a modest 30% of the market, remaining the most profitable company in this segment. Canalys analyst Tim Couling writes that “Apple remains one of the few companies that manage to make money on tablets.” For the Cupertino corporation, profit remains a priority, pushing the stock price into the background. Microsoft, in turn, will be able to defend only 5% of the tablet market. To improve the situation, the company must step up the development of high-quality applications.
Canalys notes that 50% of tablets in the share of personal computers are approximately 285 million devices that will be released in 2014. For comparison, by 2017 the number of these products will reach 396 million units. For 2013, Canalys predicts tablets 37% of the share of total shipments, which will be about 182.5 million from 493.1 million 40%.
Canalys does not believe that Apple will be able to maintain a good position in the market and will continue to be inferior to Android. In their forecasts, analysts are guided by the situation on the smartphone market. Android will control the market solely by the volume of installations and the price of products. Tablets of various price categories are produced on the basis of this system. Apple will also lose market share in personal computers.
In the future, the tablet market will be shaken by further fragmentation. Many other micro-brands will join the fight for the consumer, which will continue to dump the cost of products. Acer, ASUS, HP and Lenovo will find it increasingly difficult to compete with tablets priced at $150 and below.